Tom
will be crossing the Bering Straits by kayak in August 2000
Tom Mailhot has a penchant for pursuing the outer limits of
possibility. After playing hockey for a decade and a half, Tom
switched over to sea kayaking in 1991 and began winning races two
weeks later. Since then, he has won the Blackburn Challenge five
times and medalled in numerous other races. Tom has been a member
of the US Swan Boat Team traveling to Thailand and has raced
Dragon boats too. Tom's lifelong passion for the sea drove him to
seek greater challenges on top of that, and since 1993, he has
become a world-recognized expedition paddler. His adventures have
carried him literally to the far reaches of the globe, from a
single-day crossing of the Bay of Fundy (fifty-two nautical miles
from new Brunswick to Nova Scotia in fourteen hours) to the coast
of Siberia and through the Bering Strait to rounding Cape Horn,
where the gale-force winds actually produce sideways-growing
trees, and horizontal hail and snow. After these various
adventures, Tom maintains a deep love and respect for nature and,
of course, an unconquered desire for further exploration. The
Atlantic Rowing Race seems the logical next step, and Tom is
enthusiastically looking forward to this pursuit. "In a world
that's in such turmoil, it's good to know that old-style
competition and adventure among nations is still possible."
Tom Mailhot hails from Gloucester, Mass USA and is a true
"waterman". Read about his latest kayak adventure in the
Dec 99 issue of
Sea Kayaker magazine. |
John
Zeigler's athletic achievements are numerous. In 1998 alone, he
medalled sixteen times out of a total of twenty-three marathon
canoe races. He has won the prestigious Blackburn Challenge twice
and captured the 1998 title of USCA National Sprint Champion in
the C-1 Master class. He also held the 1998 1st place ranking in
the Paddle-erg Championships for his age group and held the second
place overall title (tied with a paddler 20 yrs his junior) just 4
seconds off the world record time! His list of races also includes
the Molokai Hoe Outrigger race from Molokai to Oahu as well as the
General Clinton 70-miler (his twelfth), in which he has placed in
the top five for the past seven years (second place twice). He has
also been a member of the US Swan Boat Team on three occasions and
has been invited to be a member for the 1999 races. No single year
of John's long career of physical training and competition is any
less impressive, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Thirty-odd
years ago, John read about Sir Chay Blythe's Atlantic crossing
[and hoped to do the same thing alone], but at the time had to
shelve the idea in spite of a great deal of enthusiasm. Says John
of this race, "It's not often one has the opportunity to
represent his country as well as a second chance to do something
that was passed up in youth. I look forward to October 2001 in
Tenerife. I look forward to the challenge of preparation, and the
adventure of a lifetime."
John Zeigler, 50, hails from New Jersey, USA and has competed in
marathon canoe racing for 12 years. He is just starting to row and
has been training on the Concept 2 rower since October 98. "I
have the highest regard for Tom Mailhot. He was the first one I
thought of to do the race with, and quite frankly, I can't think
of anyone else I'd rather do this with." |
